Moving Day
by ParvatiPatil13
Summary: It's moving day for CJ, and she needs help. *chapter 2 is up!* Sam introduces caffeinated mints to Josh and CJ, and that's where the tide and the mood turns...please R/R!!
1. Big Strong Men Getting Told Off by a Wom...

Sam doing manly work? Charlie not being by the President's side for a day? The West Wing staff in ripped, dirty, old clothes? Leo buying lunch? Is this a dream? No, it's moving day for CJ, and she needs help. After practically dragging the rest of the main West Wing staff by the ear to help her move, CJ and the gang face many problems along the way. Will CJ's furnature arrive in one-piece? Will Josh have to be sent to the hospital due to Toby constantly dropping objects on Josh's foot? Find out when you read Moving Day!  
  
Moving Day  
  
Chapter One: Big Strong Men Getting Told Off by a Woman  
  
Josh picked up his Coke, grabbed an orange from the fridge, and headed towards CJ's office. He didn't quite know why he was going yet, but Donna handed him a memo from CJ saying to meet in her office during lunch break. Josh walked into CJ's open doorway, and saw Toby, Sam, and Charlie already sitting there. Sam was leaning against a wall, reading a magazine, Toby was lounging in a chair, throwing his bouncy ball off CJ's wall, and Charlie was doing nothing but sitting next to Toby and ducking from an occasional out-of-control throw from Toby. Toby, who heard Josh come in, looked up, but forgot to put his eyes back on the ball. Therefore, it came sailing back and hit him right between the eyes.  
  
"Ouch,"Toby said blankly while rubbing his forehead tenderly. Josh chuckled at Toby, and sat down in CJ's chair behind her desk.  
  
"That's CJ's chair," Sam said, without looking up.  
  
"I know," Josh said simply.  
  
"She'll kill you if she sees you in it," Charlie said, looking at Josh.  
  
"No she won't," Josh mumbled, chewing the orange he just peeled.  
  
"Yeah she will, according to that bet you two had not long ago," Toby informed. (A/N: it was not a real bet from a real episode...its from a story I wrote called Tally Board, read that and you'll understand what Toby is talking about)  
  
Josh swallowed hard, painfully remembering the bet, slowly got up from CJ's seat, and sat on the floor. No sooner did he sit down, CJ burst in the door, dragging Leo behind her.  
  
"CJ, I have work to do..." Leo was complaining  
  
"Leo, this will take about 3 minutes, now sit down!" CJ demanded and collapsed in her chair. Toby immidiately stopped bouncing the ball and Sam quickly put down the magazine. They would give her complete attention with the mood she seemed to be in. But, CJ suddenly dropped her snappy demeanor and smiled hugely at all of them.  
  
"You all might want to know why I called you hear and didn't let you eat lunch," CJ started. Toby grunted and CJ shot him a look that made him shut up instantly.  
  
"As you might have heard, I am moving," CJ said. She obviously expected some sort of huge "Oh wow!" from her colleagus, because she took a long pause. Sam finally got it and said,"Oh, congratulations, CJ!"  
  
CJ nodded towards Sam,"Thanks. Now, you all know how the process of moving is...there is furnature to be moved from my old house to my new house. I'll be needing some help." She paused and smiled at them agian. By their blank expressions she could tell she was getting no where fast.  
  
She continued,"Help from...men. But not just any men. Big, strong men. Men that...men that I know. But, they have to be those regular office guys, not the hillbilly moving men that are in this area. And, I'll need about 5 of these big strong men....Now tell me...where can I find 5 strong office men that I know very well?" More blank expressions.  
  
"I know some assisstents at the Senate that would be qualified," Toby said brightly.  
  
"Um, I think she wants us to help her," Charlie said softly.  
  
"DING DING DING! WE HAVE A CHAMPION!" CJ said triumphantly, holding up Charlie's arm. They let this new information sink in, and then all at once they started talking...  
  
"Um, tomorrow is Saturday? Heh heh...I gotta date.."  
  
"Well, well, well, look at the time, I got to meet with the Presient."  
  
"You know those people in the lobby? I gotta talk to them..."  
  
"Um, I gotta go to the bathroom?"  
  
"It's my niece's birthday party, Uncle Toby can't miss that..."  
  
"You don't want to be late for the president, CJ, you know that..."  
  
"A date with the Surgeon General to be exact...about some..smoking lable stuff..."  
  
"I can't hold it!"  
  
"Pity the party lasts all day..."  
  
The excuses poured in for a while longer and all of them stood up at once and started to head towards the door. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" they heard a voice scream behind them. They all froze and cringed...knowing she was perfectly liable of telling them off badly. Slowly, the 5 men turned around to face CJ, who was, suprisingly, smiling. But it was a strange, smirk type of smile that was usually not seen on her face.  
  
"What's she so cocky about?" Josh said out of the corner of his mouth.  
  
"Knowing her, she probably has some sort of threat or blackmail," Leo said, lips barely moving. Josh jerked his head forward slightly, which was supposed to represent a nod.  
  
"I happen to know that every single one of you was lying just now," she said smugly.  
  
Sam crossed his legs and shook his head,"No, I REALLY do gotta go to the bathroom!"  
  
"Shut up, Spanky, and hold it for a minute!" CJ snapped. She then turned to Josh.  
  
"Joshua Lyman," she began, looking at a piece of paper in her hand,"You claim to have a "date" with the Surgeon General?" Josh nodded unconvincingly.  
  
"Wow, it says on your schedule that you are free on Saturday except for a 7 o'clock meeting!" Before Josh could reply, she added,"And don't try to tell me this was sudden, I just got this info about two minutes ago, and, by the way, the Surgeon General is in Nebraska."  
  
"How--? Where--? When--?" Josh stuttered, but CJ ignored him and faced Toby.  
  
"Tobias (A/N: real name?) Ziegler, you claim," she laughed,"that you have you're neice's birthday to attend? Umm..according to your schedule, that's not until Sunday."  
  
Toby scowled, and looked away.  
  
"And I made sure to get this so you wouldn't use the 'I have to get her a present' excuse," CJ concluded while reaching into her desk. She pulled ot a wrapped present and tossed it at Toby. He caught it, looking mildly suprised. CJ then turned to Leo.  
  
"Leonard McGarry, I don't even have to LOOK at your schedule to know you were lying. The president NEVER calls you in during your lunch break, knowing that is just about your only free time. The president also happens to be the one I got your schedules from, in fact I had just came from his office. He even TOLD me that he wasn't planning to meet with anyone today," CJ paused for a breath of air, telling Leo off in one breath. Leo dropped his jaw and stared at CJ in awe. She did not respond, however, because she was concentrating on Charlie. She made a dissapointing "tsking" sound. "Charles Young. Ha. Besides Josh's, yours was the worst excuse. For crying out loud, Charlie, you are the president's personal assistent! You don't...MEET with people! Besides, they are for ME anyway, that's why we gotta hurry up with this..."  
  
By then, the whole group was gaping at her. CJ smiled shortly and shrugged,"I don't understand why you didn't think I wouldn't read and study my information before I talked to you. This was just another press briefing." She paused and swung her jacket over her shoulders. "And you..." she scanned her peers with her finger,"were just an another annoying press." She then brushed past Leo and went out the door. She then turned back around and stuck her head in the doorway,"Oh, yeah, almost forgot...meet me at my house, the one I am moving out of, at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning."  
  
"She's good," Toby said soft voice.  
  
"Too good," Leo agreed, staring after her. Sam dashed out of the room and sprinted towards the men's bathroom.  
  
Josh chuckled. "What's so funny?" Toby asked, taking his gaze off of CJ's goldfish.  
  
Josh smiled and said,"Well, we just got shown up by that woman, again."  
  
"Well she isn't your typical woman," Leo said smartly.  
  
"She's 6 feet tall...about 6'3" with heels," Charlie commented  
  
"She scares the hell out of all of us," Toby added.  
  
"Ok, so she just did her typical thing," Josh said, turning to leave.  
  
"What's that?" Leo asked, also standing up to leave.  
  
"Telling off 5 big, strong men all at once."  
  
"In a single blow at that."  
  
"We gotta show up tomorrow."  
  
"I wanna see what happens if I don't."  
  
"Josh, I can see your tombstone already."  
  
"What?"  
  
"It'd say 'Here lies the body of Josh Lyman. The fool of a man who did not follow CJ Cregg's orders, and, naturally, suffered the consequnces of her wrath."  
  
"Well, Leo, that's gonna be a helluva tombstone."  
  
"Josh, if you don't show up, it'll be a helluva whoopin." 


	2. Caffeinated Mints

Summary: The tide and mood of the story turns as Sam offers around some caffeinated mints. Sorry if this chapter is kinda short, but I couldn't think of a good place to end it.  
  
Moving Day  
  
Chapter 2: Caffeinated Mints  
  
Dressed in blue jeans and a Harvard sweater over a white dress suit he wore for his meeting, Josh groggily pulled up to CJ's driveway. CJ came out of her house with a box of her accessories in her arms. She heaved it up on the truck bed, wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, and smiled at Josh. She was wearing a Berkely sweatshirt, a red bandana/scarf in her hair, and blue jeans. "Hey, Josh! How was the meeting?" CJ asked cheerfully. Josh mumbled something inaudible back to her. CJ's smile faded a bit and said as she turned back towards her front door,"You might as well cheer up...you'll be here for a while."  
  
Josh considered this advice and followed CJ into the house.  
  
"Where do I start?" he asked quietly. CJ raised an eyebrow at him, not used to this attitude. "Are you OK?" she asked.  
  
Josh nodded,"Yeah, I still haven't fully recovered from the meeting." Then he broke out in a HUGE yawn. CJ's eyes widened as she practically screamed,"YOU FELL ASLEEP AT THE CONGRESS'S BUGET PLAN MEETING??"  
  
Josh nodded sheepishly, and broke out into a nervous smile. CJ put her hands on her hips and shook her head disbelieving at him. "Ok, how about you sit down for a bit while I fix some coffee. I don't need you falling asleep while you are carrying my china." Josh thanked her gratefully and plopped down on her sofa. CJ went to the other room muttering something about not knowing where her coffee pot went.  
  
Josh closed his eyes and laid back. He was suddenly jolted awake at the sound of a ringing doorbell. "Can you get that?" CJ yelled from the other room. Josh yelled back he would, and went to the door. There was Sam, standing in the open doorway, looking inside.  
  
Josh stopped midway down the hallway and stared at his best friend. "Why did you ring the doorbell?" Josh asked, indicating to the open door. Sam shrugged and said simply,"I didn't want to barge in." Josh shook his head in disgust and led Sam to CJ's kitchen.  
  
"Mr. Manners is here," Josh announced to CJ.  
  
Without looking over her shoulder, CJ, pressed down the coffee-bean grinder and said loudly,"Hey, Sam!" Josh grinned and took a seat next to his friend.  
  
"So what's the Plan?" Sam asked Josh, while CJ poured the grounded beans into the coffee maker. Josh rolled his eyes and threw his head back tiredly,"Please, do NOT talk to me about anything work related right now."  
  
Sam's eyes widened,"It was that bad?"  
  
"No, he fell asleep," CJ added from the counter.  
  
Josh sneered at CJ and turned to a genuinely shocked Sam.  
  
"Ok, it started early...besides, I was up all night canceling plans I had for today," Josh tried to explain, throwing another nasty expression at CJ.  
  
"You didn't have plans today," CJ sighed, and brought over three steaming coffee mugs. Josh pounced on his as CJ offered Sam a mug. Sam rejected it, though, saying,"No, thank you, I already have my share of caffeine for the morning."  
  
Josh stared at Sam over the rim of his coffee cup as CJ shook her head and stood over by the doorframe leading into the hall so she could see if any more people came to the door. Josh continued to stare at Sam, and finally said,"Sam, not even your enthusiasm can get you through a full day of moving furnature."  
  
"And dressers, and appliences, and office stuff," CJ concluded, leaning on the doorframe, sipping her coffee.  
  
"Yeah, that too," Josh agreed and nodded towards the cup in front of Sam,"So you might want to take that coffee."  
  
Sam shook his head and put his hand is his pocket,"No, I mean I have a substitute for coffee now." He pulled out a tin can and slid it across the table to Josh.  
  
As Josh examined the box, Sam explained,"They're called 'Penguin Mints' and they contain caffeine." Josh looked interested and he opened the box. Pulling one of the small, white spheres out and holding it up, he asked,"How many of these equal a cup of coffee?"  
  
"Well, I am not sure what it's equivilant to COFFEE is, but three of them equal a can of Coke," Sam said matter-of-factly. CJ resigned her post at the doorframe and looked over Josh's shoulder at the box,"Are these drugs or something?" she asked.  
  
Sam laughed shortly,"No, just like Tic-Tacs, except caffeinated and not as sweet."  
  
Josh stared at the mint in his palm, "You say three of these equal a Coke?"  
  
Sam nodded, "Yeah, I usually--" but he stopped short as Josh took the can, tilted it back and poured a significant amount of mints in his mouth. Sam's jaw dropped and Josh, mouth full, looked over at him and smiled innocently. CJ took this moment to swipe the tin out of Josh's hand and shove it in her jean pocket. "For later," she declared to Sam,"I'll need these more than you do, thanks." Sam looked from Josh to CJ in shock, as if they had just taken away his prized posession. "Oh, Spanky, you probably have more in your car," CJ sighed, jerking her thumb at the door. Sam's expression brightened and he said,"I think I do!" He stood up and sprinted out of the door to his car. "They aren't going to run away, you know!" CJ yelled after him. She turned back to Josh, smiling. Josh was making a face. "Those are really disgusting if you eat too many at once," he stated. CJ nodded, pulled the tin out of her jean pocket, and popped three in her mouth. "I would imagine so," she agreed.  
  
Josh looked around CJ to see the hovering figure behind her.  
  
"Hey, Toby!" Josh said, more cheerily than he had been 5 minutes earlier. "Uh oh, the mints are kicking in," CJ whispered to Toby.  
  
"What the.." Toby began but was interrupted as Sam came back in the door, panting hard.  
  
"What did you do, run to Richmond to buy some?" CJ asked.  
  
"Buy what?" Toby asked, looking from Sam to CJ.  
  
"No, it just took me a while to find them," Sam replied to CJ.  
  
"Find what?" Toby asked again.  
  
"Must have been pretty hard, considering your face is red and you are sweating," CJ winked, ignoring Toby.  
  
"What was hard?" Toby asked, even more confused.  
  
"Yeah, well I was getting in all of these unsual positions to get to it," Sam said, wiping his forehead.  
  
Toby's eyes widened and he bellowed,"TO GET TO WHAT?!?!"  
  
Josh, Sam, and CJ all looked at him, as if realizing he was there for the first time.  
  
"Oh, sorry, go on. I'll continue to ask questions to myself," Toby grumbled.  
  
Josh sighed and told Toby to sit down, while the three of them started to explain what was going on. 


End file.
